Hi All, I made a batch of Brie a while back and one of them I turned into a shitake brie. I made two skinnier pieces and put a layer of grated dried shitake mushroom (grown by us) on one and then put the other on top. This was after most of the draining had happened in the molds. Anyway......they were still wet and the top one kept wanting to slip off sideways so I used a birch bark girdle to hold them together. This ripened nicely and has received rave reviews from all who have tried it. I will definitely make this again....maybe this weekend. I'll attach some photos.

I love how this looks. I like how the PC showed around the bottom of the bark. All in all, I call this a beautiful success and I really hope I can repeat it. Wish me luck!!!

Thank you, Al! I am sometimes too creative for my own good and so it's wonderful when the risk taking pays off. I guess it's easier since I "have" to make cheese at least twice a week whether I want to or not. If I don't my other option is to start bathing in milk like Cleopatra was reputed to do but I really don't have time......too busy doing barn work and just want a regular shower after that! So you see, I really have to make cheese and why not experiment. I figure every type of cheese is a result of someone's successful experiment.

Thank you Botanist and Herman for the cheeses. Hmmm, the taste? My neighbor waxed lyrical over it saying he could taste the woods and a lovely earthiness. He is not a man to talk much, spends much time in the woods and this was as close to babbling uncontrollably as I've ever heard from him. (He's the most wonderful neighbor in the world and a friend for twenty years.). Three other people were just as enthusiastic and wanted to know if I would sell them some. I gave them some to take home since I am not selling cheese.

For me, it was hard to describe the flavor....I was the hostess trying to keep dinner cooking while we all crowded in the kitchen trying about 6 cheeses that I'd taken out. It's satisfying to be able to create a nice cheese spread from all homemade cheeses, isn't it??

I would love to make cheese twice a week. I can make cheese on Saturdays but not every Saturday. I love your creativeness. My husband always says "I just hate talented people, they make the rest of us look bad." I am creative with other hobbies, like sewing, but cheese making I am more trying to get it right before I start experimenting. Raw milk costs $7 and I don't want to waste it. I buy 4 gallons when I am going to make cheese.

Congratulations on your success. I also say a cheese to you on your wonderful cheese.

I was talking to a man at our beer brewing club the other day and he was talking about growing shitake mushrooms. He wants to move away from the city and build him a house out of old shipping containers and learn to live "off the grid" is how he put it. He was asking me about how to learn to make cheese. He was going to grow the mushrooms to sell to make a living. I don't know how he plans on marketing his mushrooms without electricity but whatever.

Hi Jeff and Boofer, I did harvest the bark off trees in the forest that surrounds us mostly from fallen trees and some from living trees. (it will not impact their health, I only took outer layers). I did not steam or boil the bark at all. my thinking is this: the bark is waterproof, was used for canoes by the people here before the Europeans and then by the early settlers too. I wasn't worried that it would leach a lot of tannins or whatever into the cheese because of that so chose not to boil. I ripen my cheeses in mini caves that are by nature devoid of the natural microbial profile that I might otherwise have were I ripening in a cave so I left the bark au naturale.

I would be happy to send some bark to you Boofer if you'd like. Just message me a mailing address. I sent some to Yoav and he made some way out there rare cheese for his first trial. I'll post a bark photo from my other computer. Do you have paper birch out in WA?

Thank you for the cheese tnbquilt! Tell your husband he's probably a very creative guy, just in an area in which he's not recognizing it. And I bet your quilts are beautiful!

Here's a photo of some of the birch bark I collected in a short walk. the trick is finding pieces you can cut into strips that will work for your size cheese. It is possible to use two strips if you have someone to help with tying the string while you hold the two pieces around the cheese. that's how we did one of the cheeses.

Hi Tomer, this type of bark is already very pliable and soft and if you see a post above I explain that I don't steam or sanitize it and why. I would think eucalyptus bark would do it's own particular thing in cheese making and I think you should experiment and post photos and results! I love to see more people thinking about using other things in their cheese making and aging.

Absolutely fascinating. Kathrin, you bring a new dimension to this forum. Your imaginative rind treatments have, no doubt, inspired others here besides me. I almost hold my breath when I see one of your postings, waiting in anticipation for what new inventive thing you have introduced us to.

My humble cheese to you for being a "cheese pathfinder". I've associated that moniker with my military frame of reference. You're right out there in front.